Lady Crusaders defeat Lady Chucks 38-24

Photo by Wayne Bauer
Abbi Petrosky, 4, of the Lady Crusaders, is fouled on this play as she attempts to shoot the ball against the Punxustawney defender. The other Lady Crusader in the photo is Ellie Petrosky.

By

Wayne A. Bauer

The Elk County Catholic Lady Crusaders picked up their third victory of the week on Friday night, defeating the visiting Lady Chucks of Punxsutawney by a 38-24 score in a game played at the Aaron J. Straub gym at Elk Catholic. This was a District Nine League encounter and brought Elk Catholic's league record to 4-2.
"We played a terrific first half tonight, as we took a 25-8 lead," said Ken Pistner, ECCHS coach. "We didn't shoot as well in the second half, but our defense was pretty good, as we were able to protect our lead and come away with a big victory.
"I felt we hit the boards really well tonight, as Abbi (Petrosky) had seven boards, Lexie (Meholic) and Tayor (DaCanal) had six each and Maggie (Sorg) came up with four. We played pretty fresh, especially in the first half, considering we played Monday and Thursday night this week.
"Overall, this was a good win and we will take on this same team again on Monday, only at their home court. We were able to use all of our players in tonight's game and the experience will be a big help down the road for these younger players."
Karly Carnovale was the only Lady Crusader in double figures on Friday, scoring 12 points on four field goals and four foul goals. She was followed by Abbi Petrosky with seven points, Ellie Petrosky with six points, Tayor DaCanal with five and Lexie Meholic and Kristie Hanes with four each.
Shawnna Crago was the leading scorer for the Lady Chucks with 13 points on five field goals and a three-for-four night at the line. Jenna Reitz was next with seven points, followed by Ashley Reitz with two points and Taylor Newcome and Paris Kernich with one each.
Meholic gave the Lady Crusaders a 2-0 lead early with a bucket underneath. Punxsy's Newcome hit a foul goal, then A. Petrosky scored three points and E. Petrosky and Carnovale two points each to give Elk a 9-2 lead. Kernich hit a foul goal, but Elk answered with field goals by DaCanal and A. Petrosky to make it 13-2 as the first quarter ended.
E. Petrosky scored to open the second period, 15-2. Two foul goals by Crago were followed by field goals by E. Petrosky, Carnovale and Meholic to make the score 21-4. A bucket by Crago was again answered by field goals by Carnovale and Hanes to make the score 25-6. Crago scored the final points of the half, as Elk took a 25-8 lead into the locker room.
The third quarter was a defensive struggle, as neither team was able to generate much offense. Carnovale and A. Reitz exchanged field goals, then Carnovale hit another field goal and A. Petrosky a foul goal, 30-10. J. Reitz hit a trey, followed by a Hanes bucket, 32-13. Crago and J. Reitz scored field goals for Punxsy, while DaCanal added a foul goal for Elk to make it 33-17 with one period remaining.
The fourth quarter was another defensive struggle as the Lady Crusaders scored only five points, foul goals by Carnovale (2), DaCanal (2) and A. Petrosky, while the Punxsutawney girls managed only seven points, five by Crago and two by Reitz, to make the final score 38-24 in favor of the Lady Crusaders.
Game Notes
Last night was Grade School Appreciation Night. Grade school players received their Lady Crusader T-shirts at halftime of the JV game.
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The Lady Crusaders are now 14-4 on the season and will return to action on Monday evening when they travel to Punxsutawney to take on the Lady Chucks in a return engagement.
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On Wednesday, the Lady Crusaders will be travel to Brookville to take on the Lady Raiders in another District Nine League game.
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